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Between a signed offer and settlement day, a WA sale runs through a set order: the offer and its acceptance, the deposit, the contract’s conditions, the settlement agents’ checks, and settlement itself. The settlement date is set in the contract of sale, and the period is usually 30 to 90 days.
General information, not legal advice. Contracts differ. For your own sale or purchase, Consumer Protection’s sale by offer and acceptance page and property settlement page are the official places to check.
Offers to buy are usually written on the Offer and Acceptance form (the O&A), used with the Joint Form of General Conditions for the Sale of Land. Where an agent is selling, the offer goes through the agent in most cases, and the agent must pass every written offer to the seller. The seller may accept or decline any offer, whatever order they arrived in.
The contract records the property, the buyer and seller, the seller’s agent if there is one, the legal practitioners or settlement agents for both sides, the price, the deposit, the balance owing at settlement, and any special conditions such as a ‘subject to finance’ clause.
A seller can make a counter offer by amending the O&A, and the buyer can accept it, reject it or counter again. For any change to bind, the buyer and seller must initial and date each change and sign and date the document in full. Until both agree on all its terms, the O&A is not a legally binding contract.
When the seller signs the O&A, it becomes a binding contract of sale, and each party must be given a signed copy. Consumer Protection’s glossary is plain about what follows: there is no cooling-off period in Western Australia once the contract is signed, unless the buyer and seller added one as a clause.
This is also the date that matters for transfer duty. Duty usually becomes payable on the day the document recording the transaction is signed, and it is generally the purchaser who must pay. More in Transfer duty in WA.
Consumer Protection says no deposit is required, though an amount can be negotiated, and that it would usually be 10 per cent of the price at most, and often a good deal less.
Before you sign the appointment, a settlement agent must give you a written quote of the most they will charge, and a Form 2 Disclosure Notice if a relationship exists that may cause a conflict of interest. You then sign a Form 1 Appointment to act. An agent cannot act for both sides unless both give permission on the appointment form. The full picture is in What a settlement agent does.
A property is “under offer” once an offer has been accepted while some of the contract’s conditions are still to be met. Special conditions can cover matters such as finance, the sale of the buyer’s existing property, building, plumbing or termite inspections, and repairs.
Your settlement agent is expected to make enquiries about the title, rates and zoning, check that inspections and special conditions are completed, and request the funds needed to settle. The settlement agents also carry out their own identity checks on the owners.
An electronic advice of sale, known as EAS2, is the online service conveyancers and lawyers use to tell the Water Corporation, RevenueWA and local governments that a settlement is coming. Duty is assessed too: Landgate lists a Certificate of Duty from RevenueWA among the things a transfer needs.
The buyer’s final inspection, to check the property is still in the condition it was in when the offer was made.
On settlement day the buyer pays the balance of the price to the seller, gets the title and becomes the registered owner, and takes possession unless other arrangements were made. Outgoings are adjusted between the two: the seller covers rates to the end of settlement day, and the buyer covers them from the next day on.
If the buyer, their settlement agent or their lender cannot meet the agreed date, the buyer may owe the seller penalty fees. In WA this step now happens online as standard: see Electronic settlement.
The settlement date is set in the contract, and the settlement period is usually 30 to 90 days. After settlement, the new owner can see their name on a copy of the title, which shows the current ownership details. How to read one is in The certificate of title.
This is a guide published by Dotto. Dotto is not a settlement agent or conveyancer. Dotto holds no settlement agent or conveyancer licence, does not act for buyers or sellers, and does not refer anyone to a settlement agent or conveyancer. This is general information, not advice. It explains property settlement in Western Australia from the side of the buyer or the seller, and it names no settlement agency or law firm. Where this guide and a source differ, the source is right.